November 28, 2008 - 10:09pm
The "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced approval of tapentadol hydrochloride (Johnson & Johnson), an immediate-release oral tablet for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain." Tapentadol hydrochloride, "for which a trade name has not yet been established, is a centrally acting analgesic that will be available in doses of 50, 75, and 100 mg." The FDA's "approval was based on data from clinical studies involving more than 2,100 patients." Researchers found that the drug "showed significant relief compared with placebo for patients undergoing bunionectomy, a common foot surgery; in pain from end-stage joint disease; and with low back pain or osteoarthritis of the hip or knee."
It appears to have activity at the mu-opiate receptors as well as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
This medications potency appears to fall somewhere between tramadol and morphine.
As far as I know at the time of writing this post, the DEA has not scheduled it yet.
Interesting information should surface in the coming months to see how safe/effective it is on a very large population.
November 28, 2008 - 10:54pm
#2
"potency falls between
"potency falls between tramadol and morphine"
that is a very large gap to guess at the potency. that can be the difference between pain relief and having a med that doesnt do anything,
November 29, 2008 - 3:01am
#3
Assuming it is refering to
Assuming it is refering to morphine taken orally. 10mg of Morphine would be (roughly) 5 times stronger than a standard 50mg dose of tramadol. This would put it's potency close to that of hydrocodone. This is of course my own rough estimation. It's still too early to say a whole lot. I'm curious to see what the half-life will be and whether it will be schedule II or III
February 19, 2009 - 4:51pm
#4
It is not official yet but
In a clinical study with opioid-experienced non-dependent subjects, the subjective scores for drug liking of a single dose of tapentadol (50, 100 and 200 mg) were comparable to equianalgesic doses of hydromorphone (4, 8, and 16 mg).
February 19, 2009 - 5:01pm
#5
Now that I reread it, the
Now that I reread it, the public can make comments.
February 20, 2009 - 1:49am
#6
on Wiki, it has the name
on Wiki, it has the name brand as a "Nucynta". The reference for that on wiki is : http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=172601. However, reading that I cannot find mention of that name. So ima do some more research.
February 27, 2009 - 7:54pm
#7
This stuff is equipotent to
This stuff is equipotent to hydromorphon! I had severe doubts of the effectiveness this medication would contain. This is something of great interest to me now.
February 28, 2009 - 4:39pm
#8
ive seen it provides equal
ive seen it provides equal analgesia compared to oxycodone and morphine.
March 21, 2009 - 11:32pm
#9
Another one?
Do we really need another opiate pain medication, considering the wide range of drugs we already have to choose from? I thinks not
March 23, 2009 - 12:57pm
#10
actually it could be good for
actually it could be good for people who are in pain, but don't want to take anything like oxycontin or similars because of the social stigma that comes with drugs of that sort.
March 23, 2009 - 1:45pm
#11
Taking another pill to avoid social stigma is rediculous
its just another thing that will be misunderstood and billions willl be spent on it rather than try to solve what is causing the pain to begin with.
March 23, 2009 - 4:33pm
#12
im not saying its right just
im not saying its right just to take it because of the stigma, but if your in conversation about meds and your meds come up, your less likely to recieve odd looks if you were to say Tapentadol instea of OxyContin.
March 24, 2009 - 6:02am
#13
For the time
For the time being....Oxycontin was probably like that in the very beginning too
April 6, 2009 - 12:22am
#14
Here is some additional
Here is some additional clinical trial information about the drugs efficacy from Johnson n Johnson;
http://www.jnjpharmarnd.com/jnjpharmarnd/news_release_05072008.html
April 6, 2009 - 12:56am
#15
IF WAS A BIDDING MAN
AN I AM, I SAY IT WOULD RANK BETWEEN A DARVOCET AN A HYROCODONE10
WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE OTHER ACTIVE INGREDEINTS , OF AMOUNTS OF APAP, OR IBUPROHEN, OR WHATEVER
April 6, 2009 - 5:17pm
#16
woodstock look up to post #4.
woodstock look up to post #4. it should answer your thoughts/questions about this med.
April 15, 2009 - 11:56pm
#17
I think this medication has
I think this medication has great potential as an SNRI, especially for people like myself who suffer from both depression and chronic pain. Its method of action is similar to a combination between morphine and cymbalta. Should it get the scheduling placement it rightfully should (preferably schedule 4 which I truly believe it deserves according to the controlled substance act, but schedule 3 would be tolerable too) this medication will be extremely helpful to chronic pain sufferers and people with depression. Chronic pain and depression are commonly diagnosed together, because usually chronic pain comes from a serious injury which probably also lead to at least minor depression, and antidepressants are also commonly used for chronic pain as an alternative to opiates, so this medication will cut down how many medications a patient may need while also giving great treatment... plus I believe that, theoretically at least, its dual mode of action also minimizes its potential for abuse because antidepressants are not something one wants to abuse. This seems to me a very useful medication as an alternative to traditional opiates, and this new category of opiates is the future of pain treatment. The whole idea behind it is to have medications which function at opiate receptors but also function through other channels so one doesn't need to worry as much about the problems associated with opiates. I find it ridiculous the DEA wants to put it schedule 2, though not altogether surprising as the DEA are a bunch of pharmacophobic idiots. Should they succeed in getting it legally made(or I should say permanently legally made, as technically it is schedule 2 right now but is under review) a schedule 2 narcotic, that will be its death. We have no need for another barely legal narcotic, as this one being new will be more expensive and not well established. But should it be schedule 3 or 4, and anyone who has read the research on tapentadol would agree thats is what it should be, this will encourage the research into new medications as alternatives to well-established opiates and will be safer, less addicting, and also minimize the need for multiple medications. Then the millions of americans who suffer from chronic pain, who today are all treated like junkies and liars that are addicted to opiates, may finally actually get treatment for their medical conditions instead of the widespread and unacceptable, yet publically supported malpractice people like myself have today
April 16, 2009 - 12:02am
#18
Chronic pain medication is
Chronic pain medication is for conditions where solving the cause of pain is out of our reach. For instance, I was in a car wreck 2 and a half years ago which resulted in my skull being shattered. I have since had 6 titanium plates inserted into my cheeks and upper jaw, 2 nose jobs, nasal implants, silicone cheek implants and a chin implant. All those implants and the lack of bones left in my skull means I will always have rather severe pain, obviously. Our nation is outrageous in how the public fully accepts malpractice and abuse of patients in my situation, that wreck was in december of 2006 and I didn't find a doctor who would even consider the fact that I suffer pain beyond the scope of ibuprofen or tylenol's ability to treat until december of 2008!
April 20, 2009 - 1:21pm
#19
@sbednar88 - sorry to hear
@sbednar88 - sorry to hear about your condition. It is hard to treat pain because physicians cannot see it and write people off who truly need pain relief; it is a bad situation, but I am glad you finally found someone to help you with your pain needs.
I believe the DEA is pushing for schedule II. It is currently being reviewed and pending release.
It will probably be very expensive but I hope insurances pick it up without too many issues. For example, since Lyrica released, some insurance companies deny paying for it, as they want the patient to take Neurontin first, and if it fails, then try Lyrica (for certain medical conditions). It then becomes a hassle for the physicians, pharmacists, and patients to work with insurance companies which can be a real pain.
This drug indeed shows promise and it is the newest approved opiate in years. I have read that pain transduction pathways are believed to involve 5HT and norEpi which is one reason why researchers think tramadol has some of its analgesic properties aside from the mu-receptor activity. Sometimes anti-depressants are used off label for chronic pain for these similar issues (though many chronic pain patients experience depression and anxiety due to the relentless pain sensations they live with).
July 1, 2009 - 9:01pm
#20
Schedule
Just to let you all know, the drug is available now and it is a C-II, or schedule 2. its in the same class of percocet, oxycontin, morphine, etc. I guess it's not covered by some state/federally funded health plans (i.e masshealth) and i could be wrong, but i heard from a pharmacist in my pharmacy that its not covered by blue cross (i could very well be wrong). i do know that its considered a tier 3 medication on all insurance plans that will cover it. the FDA's site has some good information on it and i'm sure if you go to the manufacturer's site you could get more information. Supposedly its alot like percocet but a bit stronger
July 8, 2009 - 8:37am
#21
Schedule on Nucynta
You're right, it is a Sched II but believe you me, works nothing like other members of that class. Only way to describe it, only after trying it for the first time, perhaps a bit stronger than your usual Tramadol but nothing in comparison to any derivatives of hydrocodone, oxycodone or even morphine, which they say is comparable. Not like a percocet AT ALL...Percocet works much better for pain relief, WITHOUT the nasty side effects.
Does anyone think it will be used as a snri? or could it be used as an snri since it has opiate peoperties?